NATO troops placed metal fences and barbed wire barriers in an attempt to strengthen their positions in a northern Kosovo town today after clashing with local Serbs.

Thirty soldiers from the military alliance were wounded after facing rioting locals in the majority ethnic Serb region of North Kosovo.

The Nato force sealed off Zvecan’s municipality building, where Western forces have been stationed given local resentment of the region’s inclusion in Kosovo, a statelet created by Nato following its war to break up what remained of Yugoslavia in 1999.

Kosovo formally declared independence in 2008. The claim is not recognised by Belgrade or its allies Russia and China.

Tensions increased over the weekend after ethnic Albanian officials, elected in the region in votes overwhelmingly boycotted by Serbs, entered municipal buildings.

Serbs attempted to block them from doing so and Kosovo police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

In response, Serbia put the country’s military on the highest state of alert and sent more troops to the border with Kosovo.

The Serbs protested again on Monday, insisting both Albanian mayors and Kosovo police must leave North Kosovo. Crowds clashed first with Kosovo police and then with Nato forces.

Serbian officials said 52 people were injured, three seriously. Four protesters were detained, according to the Kosovo police.

The United States and the European Union have recently stepped up efforts to mediate an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo to safeguard their local interests amid the war in Ukraine.

Ambassadors from the so-called Quint countries — France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the US — met with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Pristina on Monday and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade today.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said criminal gangs, supported by Mr Vucic, aim to destabilise Kosovo and the entire region.

Mr Vucic later also met with the ambassadors from Russia and China.

In a statement, he expressed “immense dissatisfaction and strong concern” over what he described as international “tolerance” of Mr Kurti’s actions, which he said had fuelled violence against Serbs.

Urgent measures to guarantee the security of the Serbs in Kosovo are a precondition for any future talks, Mr Vucic insisted.

China blamed the violence on a failure to respect Serbian political rights.

“We oppose unilateral actions by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing.

“We urge Nato to earnestly respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the relevant countries and truly do what is conducive to regional peace.”